Episode Analysis--Angel, "I Will Remember You"

A brief note to anyone and everyone who has yet to see Buffy or Angel. This post contains spoilers, and I highly suggest that you watch these shows from the beginning before you read any more of this post. For those who have seen Buffy but have yet to see Angel from the beginning, you can watch the first season here. Those who have yet to see a single episode of Buffy or Angel, please watch the very first episode of Buffy here. Thank you so much for reading this little message before continuing with the post, and I hope that you enjoy some good quality material. As for the rest of you who are going to read this post anyway, you might get a little confused here and there, but I at least hope it will encourage you to watch Buffy and Angel from the beginning.

Today I will discuss the episode "I Will Remember You" from Angel, Season One. This episode begins after the events of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Pangs," during which Angel is determined to save Buffy's life after his colleague Doyle has a vision of her in a fight to the death. Angel's mistake is that he tries to do so in secret, despite the fact that everyone except Buffy come to learn of his presence in Sunnydale. The action continues in "I Will Remember You," when Angel returns to Los Angeles and discovers that Buffy is in town as well after she shows up in his office expecting answers for his "skulking." They're interrupted by a demon who tries to kill them both, and when Angel and Buffy separate paths to hunt the creature down, Angel enters a fight with him and a bizarre event occurs when the blood of the demon mixes with his own. Angel falls to the floor and the audience hears the beating of a heart... Angel is alive. Afterwards the episode deals with Angel's humanity and what he chooses to do with his life after regaining a heartbeat. All he is certain of is that he wants one constant factor in his future, and that factor is Buffy Summers.

Buffy and Angel's relationship has always been compared to first love, the love you thought would last forever. Yet there's a difference between their love for one another compared to that of normal teenagers outside of the television universe. For the most part, Angel and Buffy essentially have the same goals despite their differing reasons behind it--Buffy has a duty, Angel's looking for redemption--and their personalities and attitudes complement each other. However, because Angel is a vampire and his soul is cursed, it does not allow the two of them to have a long-lasting relationship. In the Buffy Season Two episode "Surprise," Angel and Buffy share a night together that results in a true moment of happiness, after which Angel's soul disappears and the predatory Angelus has taken over. When Angel regains his soul and attempts at another relationship with Buffy, he and everyone else begin to see that he is drawing Buffy away from the normal life that she craves. Thus he chooses the worst and best path for the two of them by breaking up with her. Throughout both series, you see them move on with their lives, but they still have such a strong bond that it seems like their romantic love will never dissipate. This particular episode is one of my favorites because it illustrates the image of two people who are clearly meant to be together, but due to some obstacle are not able to remain together. Sadly, that obstacle for Buffy and Angel is eternal fight on behalf of the world.

When Buffy confronts Angel about his attempt to remain hidden from her, her feelings convey both a bitter tone and also gratefulness. After all, without his help she would be dead. However, their plan is to lead they're own separate lives and move on so long as they have a romantic connection with each other. As soon as Angel becomes human, their options begin to open up because their aren't any risks between the two of them. He can go out into the day, the two of them can spend the night together, they can have a mini-picnic in his bedroom. For the first time in over 200 years, Angel can be truly happy without losing his soul. Of course, with most Joss Whedon shows, no one can have a happy ending. After an almost fatal fight between Buffy, the Mohra demon and Angel, the latter decides to ask the Powers that Be to return him to his vampire state so that he can help Buffy rather than serve as a crutch. As Angel says, he has realized more than ever how much he loves Buffy.

Angel's decision to remain a vampire in this episode marks the second time that he denies a chance at a seemingly normal existence. A few episodes before, he destroyed a ring that would have given him the power to walk in daylight without turning to ash whenever he put it on. Instead, he takes some well-deserved time to enjoy the sun after he endured a good amount of torture and smashes the ring as soon as the sun sets. His reason? He needs to protect the people who are lost in the dark rather than the people who already have help during the day. That, and what if Angelus came into being again? Do we really want one of the most monstrous vampires ever to exist to have full-access to daytime hours? But this situation with Buffy is different. Yes, he could live out the rest of his life as a human with Buffy at his side, but that also means that Buffy will be fighting against the baddies all by herself. As a human, Angel would be limited in his strength and his fighting prowess, and he wouldn't be able to live knowing that he would not be able to help if Buffy were to get hurt. It's the question that has been brought up in almost every TV show: what would you do if you knew you had the power to save the world, but it meant that you had to give up your happiness and humanity? The heroes choice always remains the same... and so do their regrets in making the decision.

Although the episode is not written by Joss Whedon himself, writers David Greenwalt and Jeannine Renshaw capture the spirit of Buffy and Angel's relationship perfectly, and their portrayal of Angel's sheer wonder and joy at the fact that he is a human is played out perfectly. The scene in which Angel begins to eat everything in the refrigerator is simply hysterical, but the fact that it has seriously been centuries since he has been able to eat and taste a piece of bread is something that Greenwalt and Renshaw carefully considered. Every scene in this episode is completely memorable and combines elements of drama, comedy, action, and romance successfully. This episode is truly remarkable and remains my foremost favorite episode of any Whedon vehicle.

And now a few of my favorite things from this episode...

Favorite line--Cordelia's remark on the possibility that Angel and Buffy are having sex: "Oh, please. They have the forbidden love of all time, they haven't seen each other in months... I'm sure they're down there right now having tea and crackers!" *cut to Angel pouring a cup of tea for Buffy*

Favorite Scene--Angel's last moments with Buffy in his human state. I tear up every time he walks down the stairs to tell her what he has just asked of the Oracles. And when Buffy begins to cry and deny that she'll forget what has happened, I begin to bawl. Beautiful writing and acting for this scene.

Best Performance(s)--Definitely a tie between David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Yes, this is mostly a Buffy/Angel centric episode, but the chemistry between these two have always been strong and I have yet to see a TV couple from another show who is able to move me as much as these two do. (By the way, another good episode for the Buffy/Angel pairing is "Amends" from season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Boreanaz also gets to play a little with his comedy skills that he gets to show off in his new TV venture Bones.

I know I could have gone more in depth with the episode--I came very close to writing paragraphs about the symbolic meaning of Angel and Buffy's wardrobe in the episode...yeesh--but I decided to focus on the important aspect of the episode, which is the love story between Angel and Buffy.